Roasted Cauliflower

Ingredients:                                  Difficulty Rating: Easy

·       6 - 8 cups of cauliflower florets cut into pieces about 2” in diameter. I used 3 heads of cauliflower in this picture because I found white, orange and purple cauliflower at a local farmers market and they were so pretty!  But 1 medium head is usually enough as a side dish for 4 or 5 people.

·       ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

·       2 medium sized cloves of garlic – finely diced

·       Juice from ½ lemon (about 2 Tablespoons)

·       1 teaspoon Kosher salt

·       ½ teaspoon freshly grated white pepper.  If you don’t have this you can use freshly grated black pepper or even cayenne if you want an extra kick

·       ¼ cup freshly grated Parmigianino Reggiano cheese

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Put the cauliflower florets into a an oven safe pan or baking dish that is large enough to hold all the cauliflower in a single layer. 

Sprinkle the garlic, salt and pepper over the cauliflower.

Drizzle the lemon juice and olive oil over the cauliflower.

White, Orange and Purple Cauliflower
Delicious, Healthy AND Pretty!

Toss to make sure it is all covered.

Cook for about 7 minutes, take it out of the oven and sprinkle the grated Parmigianino Reggiano over the cauliflower.

Return to the oven and cook for another 7 minutes.  Remove it from the oven and test it. A fork should be able to go into the cauliflower easily – but it shouldn’t be so soft that it’s mushy.

Serve while warm.

Hurricane Sandy Skillet Apple Crisp

Ingredients                                        Difficulty Rating:  Easy

·         7 - 8 apples -  I like to use a variety of sweet and tart, like 2 Fuji, 2 Granny Smith, 2 Gala, 2 Delicious. Just be sure they are crisp apples

·         2 cups of granola – On Hurricane Sandy night I used Kashi Go Lean Crisp! – Cinnamon Crumble.  It was delicious.  You can use any store bought granola you want, but this had just the right amount of sweet and cinnamon. 

·         3 tablespoons unsalted butter.  They only had salted butter here the night of the Hurricane, so I used that and it was OK.  Use what you have

·         3 tables flour

·         ¼ cup + 1 Tablespoon sugar

·         1 teaspoon cinnamon.  I like to use a good cinnamon.  At home I use Penzy’s Vietnamese Cinnamon.  At Meryl’s house during Hurricane Sandy I used her Moroccan Cinnamon, it was great. 

·         1 ½ tablespoons  fresh lemon juice.

Preparation:

Peel and core the apples.  Quarter the apples and then cut each quarter into 2 or 3 slices.  You want the pieces to be a good size so they don't get to smooshy when you cook them. 

Put the apples into a bowl and sprinkle with about ¾ Tablespoon of the lemon juice and put aside. 




 

In a skillet that is oven proof (I like cast iron), melt the butter then add 2 Tablespoons flour and 1 Tablespoon sugar – stir until there are no lumps.

Add the granola or Kashi – and stir until it’s coated and nicely toasted – just a few minutes.  Be careful not to over toast because it can burn quickly. Pour the granola into a bowl and put the skillet back on the stove.  

Add the apples, the remaining ¼ cup of sugar, the remaining 1 Tablespoon of flour and the cinnamon- carefully toss. 

The skillet will be super full before the apples start to cook down.  Cook long enough for the apples to macerate (get juicy) a bit and start to get soft, but not enough to get them super soft.  Remember, we aren’t making apple sauce, This should take about 5 or 6 minutes.

When the apples are ready, add the granola (or Kashi) back into the pan.  I usually do it by handfuls, sprinkling it over the top.

Put the skillet into the 350 degree preheated oven for about 35 or 40 minutes – until it bubbles. 

 Let it cool for about 1/2 hour - if you've got some ice cream - Yummmmm.